Earl Crush

Vasti sets her second novel in the same world as her debut, Ne’er Duke Well, featuring recurring characters but also crafting an entirely new storyline, delightfully turning the erotic circulating library of her first novel into a hub of espionage. Heiress Lydia Hope-Wallace, who often becomes overwhelmed in social situations, has for years found solace through her correspondence with Arthur Baird, the Earl of Strathrannoch, as the two discuss her radical political ideas. When she learns that Arthur is in dire need of money, she decides to travel to Scotland and propose a deal—her fortune for his hand in marriage. However, when she arrives at his castle door, she encounters a stranger. It has not been Arthur writing to her, but his brother—who now seems to have stolen a highly advanced rifle scope and disappeared for nefarious purposes. Lydia and Arthur join forces to find him and along the way discover that they are involved in a dangerous game of spies.